'Discouraging': Students at LeBron James-backed Ohio School Fail State Math Exam 3 Years Straight

NBA icon and hometown hero LeBron James gave back to the Akron, Ohio, community that raised him by backing the I Promise school, a public grade school for at-risk students.

Unfortunately, the school's recent test scores were branded "discouraging" after all eighth-grade students failed the state's math exam for three consecutive years, RadarOnline.com has learned.

The school opened in 2018 as part of the Akron Public Schools system with financial support from The LeBron James Foundation.

The school's website stated its mission to serve first through eighth grade "students who are already falling behind and in danger of falling through the cracks."

According to the Akron Beacon Journal, the James-backed fall class of eighth-grade students received failing test scores for the state's math exam for several years.

While the report revealed data that showed improvement for some students over past scores, many students saw diminished scores over their time at I Promise. The report claimed that I Promise's Black and disabled students scored "in the bottom 5%" of Ohio test results.

School board president Derrick Hall said he was "disappointed" in test scores and referenced the "resources" poured into the James-backed school.

"For me as a board member, I just think about all the resources that we're providing," Hall told the outlet. "And I just, I'm just disappointed that I don't think, it doesn't appear like we're seeing the kind of change that we would expect to see."

Director of school improvement Keith Liechty-Clifford added that the data was "discouraging."

Despite the report's focus on the 8th-grade cohorts' math scores, Liechty-Clifford provided data that showed significant improvement in other subjects.

The report showed that students transitioning from fourth to fifth grade saw reading proficiency increase from 6% to 13%. That being stated, sixth grades students in 2022 had a reading proficiency of 2% compared to 7% in the previous grade.

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The I Promise school costs Akron taxpayers around $8 million annually. James' foundation, which reportedly donated $1.4 million annually, released a statement on Monday.

"When we started this work to wraparound students through education, we entered this partnership with Akron Public School for the long haul," the statement read. "Because this work requires a long-term commitment, hard work, and a lot of love and care."

"We're here for the ups and downs, and will continue to wraparound our students and their entire families so they can be successful in school and in life, no matter the challenges and obstacles that come their way," the statement continued.